Just Stay Like This

[EOGHAN MANN]

Eoghan thought it was silly, what he was doing. LALIA KNIGHTLEY was a student of his. An adult, one he didn't think he had much to teach to, but a student nonetheless. Yet he found new inspiration with her, one that was different from usual. Oh, he still had an urge to possess her as much as he would have with his previous muses, but it was somewhat different at the same time. Every time he felt that, he forced himself to slow down, as though afraid that he would otherwise scare her or rid her of that sweet innocence that he found so refreshing. He really felt like he had to keep his ego under control, or else he might just trap her in his apartment and play music to her all day while keeping her all to himself.

He did make it clear that whatever was to happen between them, it had to stay between them. There was no showing it at school. Something that he sometimes found hard, for he appeared not to be the only one who had this kind of attraction for Lalia, this urge to get her attention. He had not to be jealous in those times. Not always an easy task.

"I've finished my song," he admitted in a whisper. He didn't want to say before that because he knew her. She would have wanted to hear it. And if he felt the desire to show her what he could do, he also had an even bigger desire to have her in his arms and kiss her first. He chose to satisfy his physical desires before his ego. He had dragged her to his bed. He was sometimes hesitant when doing this, again as though that would take away her innocence and with it her power as a muse. But he could not resist himself.

That being said, he was not trying to get to any of his instruments to play it to her. He knew she would want to hear it, but he wanted to stay there. To keep her there. Why was he turning like this? He didn't want to be disappointed by a muse once gain.

[LALIA KNIGHTLEY]

Lalia was aware of it, that what she was currently doing might be a stretch on morality. Eoghan was her teacher and he could risk a lot by having a hidden relationship with her. Not to add that she was also lying to him on various aspects of her life and she started disliking it. She didn’t know how he would take it to know that she was a witch, and a Veela no less. She preferred not to think of it as she enjoyed his warm embrace. She had felt that way only once and she didn’t want anyone to take that time away from her. She understood that they would have to stay hidden, and not show anyone signs that they were actually seeing each other and doing much more.

She still wondered if he was acting on her Veela blood but often he would reassure her indirectly and resist the temptations. It was strange to see that a muggle could resist that much to that part of hers. Pretty much like Dorian who told her that she was pretty and that he wasn’t after her because of her Veela blood. It was an odd way to form a friendship, but they still were friends. He probably wouldn’t agree to that relationship either, saying that it was taking away all of her innocence. She thought it was silly because she was still the same, she just loved better.

She smiled as she heard him. “You know I’ll want to hear it.” She said, though, she wasn’t ready to leave the bed just yet. It was comfortable and warm. It was the warmth she was getting used to and didn’t want to leave either. It was a tough decision there but for now, she wanted to stay there.

[EOGHAN MANN]

When Eoghan tried to understand why he was so affected by Lalia, why she inspired him and what was different about her, he assumed it was her innocence. He dated models and other musicians, people who lived their lives fully and intensely. She was naive in a way he rarely saw in people around him. So it had to be the thing that worked, the little something that made his inspiration fire up in her presence. As he was used to his fascination for women to dwindle over time, changing muse for almost every song he wrote, he tried hard this time for it to last longer. Forever, if possible, for he didn't feel like he wrote anything good in the time between him leaving his band and meeting with Lalia. The improtant thing to do then was to ensure she kept that fresh innocence. Every time he spent with her like this got him to worry he would extinguish that part of her.

Maybe it was why, in a way, that he liked how she wanted to hear the song. True, she was not getting up and asking him to play it now. She was staying like this. But he didn't see in her a major change yet that would make her less interesting in his eyes. It had to stay like this. He didn't know what would happen to him if it faded away. It would be more than her ceasing to be interesting to him, he would have destroyed her. He didn't want her to become like those superficial people that surrounded him. If those were the only ones around him, it would mean he was no better.

A small smile briefly appeared on his lips. He pulled her closer. Their noses were touching, his beard brushing against her smooth skin. He started humming the rhythm of the song softly under his breath. That would be all for now. He didn't want to get up and pick a guitar to play to her. Not yet.

[LALIA KNIGHTLEY]

Lalia sometimes wish to know what he was thinking when he stared at her like that. She also wanted to know why everyone was so inclined to keep her innocence safe. As if she would change if she had passionate moments with someone. She didn’t think she would or that anyone would make her change that part of her personality however it wasn’t something that guys seemed to agree on. She understood that Dorian didn’t wish to see her heart broken again but there was a limit to what he could restrain her from doing. She still wanted to be in a relationship with someone and this person happened to be Eoghan. It seemed that she couldn’t help herself but have a complicated relationship. She just wished for now that this one would last.

She didn’t think someone could destroy her, as she went through a lot in the past and did consider telling why and how she had those scars that he had probably seen already. Luckily for her, magic was able to heal most of it and she was able to find her original body but the ones caused by magic were harder to hide. Part of her wanted to scream at the thought and she preferred to try to focus on the moment she had with him instead of letting something cloud on the happiness she was feeling right now.

She smiled back at him as she listened to the rhythm that he had in mind for his new song. He could be such a tease when he wanted. “You tease.” She said, pretending to pout as he was determined not to let her hear more than this.

[EOGHAN MANN]

Eoghan had seen the scars on Lalia. He wondered how she got them, hated the possibilities, but as he looked back in her eyes, he saw something he interpreted as a plea not to ask. At least not now. It made him even more anxious as to what could have happened, but also more fearful that the worst case scenarios turned out to be true. He didn't want to think that. Maybe it was nothing. Just a bad fall, from a bicycle or a tree. Not something that would add a layer of sadness behind the apparent joyfulness she showed the world.

She claimed he was a tease. Perhaps. Then again, the thought of it amused him. He would have found it weird, to be called that, by any past bedmates of his. Or muses. The two tended to overlap. And from her... it was funny. "I'm thinking of making it a duet. You think you can follow the beat?" he said as he hummed again the rhythm in which the voices were meant to sing. Would their two voices go well together? That was the question. Even if that turned out not to be the case, he would still have her in mind when singing it, despite it being far from a love song. He moved closer to her ear, wondered if she could feel the vibration in his throat as he hummed.

[LALIA KNIGHTLEY]

Lalia couldn’t deny the fact that she enjoyed it whenever Eoghan came up with a new song. She didn’t think he would end up destroying her in the long run. She had had various breakups in the past and she was still the same, with just a little bit of sadness each time her heart broke. She didn’t care about what Dorian would say about her dates, she wanted to find the right person, and even if it might be something that would take time to do she was willing to take the risk. She didn’t want to die alone and share her passion for music with that person. She was starting to think that Eoghan might be, but it was too fast and she didn’t want to break the magic they had in their relationship. She wanted to enjoy every moment of it. Her secrets could wait.

“A duet?” She asked as she listened to him humming the rhythm of the song. It could be doable, she didn’t know if they were going to sound good together either but it was worth a try. “We can try that, we never sang together before.” She said. He got her interested and she was willing to hear more of it but she understood that he wanted to spend more time with her like this and she agreed to it, also enjoying the warmth of the bed for now.

[EOGHAN MANN]

Eoghan could not picture Lalia as a woman with secrets. She had to have some, but he couldn't see her with a dark past or some evil intentions behind her smile. If people hurt her, he felt like she would be one of those people who got hurt because they were too nice, genuinely. He did see her previous boyfriend, that arrogant jerk. Then again, he was also arrogant. Maybe it was a trait she liked. But he didn't want to think he had anything in common with What-his-face.

Sergeant was quiet. He understood his master's wish not to have the dog in the room right now, nor being disturbed. Eoghan figured the dog was quietly resting on a couch somewhere. The one in the other room was his favourite. Eoghan liked it less, too low, but it made for a good bed for Sergeant so he never bothered switching. Besides, it was the music room, not the living, so he supposed it wasn't as important.

His mind came back to Lalia. Yes, a duet. He thought their voices fit the song, it was only a matter of whether they fit each other. She was right, they never. He sang for her, he wrote a song for her also that she sang, but they never sang together. "Maybe it's about time we try it," he replied, kissing her face, slowly going down to her neck. She would soon demand to hear it, he was sure of it. And he didn't know how long he'd be able to resist her. If she didn't run off to the next room by herself, forcing him to follow.

[LALIA KNIGHTLEY]

Lalia couldn’t say that she had a dark past, or at least, that she was the villain there, but she went through a lot from her parents disowning her to being tortured by Death Eaters. She still had a lot to tell him and managed to avoid it every time she saw the questions in his eyes and finding ways to distract him from them. She wasn’t ready to tell him the whole truth about herself, fearing that he would reject her the moment he knew that she was a witch, let alone a Veela. She wanted to enjoy his company and make sure she could completely trust him first. She would have to see later on.

She had to agree, it was time they tried to duet together and see if they sounded good. She was interested in the matter but she was also interested in staying in bed a bit longer, especially now that he started kissing her neck. “We can try it later; you are not resisting me that much at the moment.” She said teasingly as she moved so she was on top of him. Was it changing that part of her innocence? Maybe, but she was an adult, and the people who wanted to preserve it had to know that she was no longer a kid and that she had needs too.

It was also the first time in a while she had been able to truly connect with someone and wanted to embrace it with all of her might if she could.

[EOGHAN MANN]

Eoghan was at a weird place where he wanted to know more about Lalia, perhaps even more so than he did with previous lovers, but he also didn't want to. Anything that could make her look less innocent that she appeared to be, he wasn't sure he wanted to hear. And yet, he sometimes had the feeling like he was missing out on a lot of things about her by doing so. Her scars proved it. He should ask more, but he wasn't sure he wanted to hear it. Luckily for his hesitation, Lalia was also doing her best to keep it a secret from him.

Resisting? Well, he did have trouble resisting her, as in not touching her when she was this close of him, but he didn't think she was the one pushing him to stay here in this situation. "You're the one who can't resist me right now. I thought you would have gone to the music room and come back with a guitar already." He was taken a bit by surprise when she turned to straddle him. He didn't know how he felt about that. He tended to prefer being the one in charge in general. He could enjoy that, but didn't know exactly, in this instance. He held her, felt her body a bit, before pushing her gently back to her place and rolling on top of her instead. They were very close to each other, and Eoghan wouldn't need a lot to motivate him into a second round, but for now, he was merely looking at her, caressing her gently. Again, he was trying to restrain himself and almost started to think he should be the one going to the music room to fetch the guitar.

[LALIA KNIGHTLEY]

Lalia smiled as she looked down at Eoghan. She never thought she would enjoy being this close to someone, especially to a man she actually could trust and be herself on the most part with. She felt bad for lying to him but she had to stay secretive about a good chunk of her life around him. She could tell that sometimes he wanted to know, by the look in his eyes, but she managed to avoid it like a pro. It was sad to know that she had to go that far to keep her relationship as perfect as it could be. She figured that nothing was perfect, and she certainly wasn’t.

“Maybe.” She said teasingly. She tended to be someone who could be very passionate and not only in bed but generally with her life in general. It might scare some guys away from her but it certainly didn’t scare Eoghan so far. “Going to the music room is also appealing but it’s warm here and I like it.” She admitted. She rarely had the occasion to have that feeling with someone and she wanted to make the most out of it. Was she being selfish? Maybe but he couldn’t blame her for that now could he? She was flipped back onto her back and kept cuddling him, unaware of the effect she still had on him, and honestly, if she was she would probably blame it on the Veela part of her and nothing else.

[EOGHAN MANN]

Eoghan couldn't take Lalia for someone passionate. Maybe with music but he could not transfer that passion to anything else in her life. She was proving him wrong, showing that she more than an innocent angel. He should have known though. Eoghan was excessive in most aspects of his life, why would he assume then that he passion was only for music? He still wanted to keep her rather innocent though, mostly because he had never been inspired by someone like that before and yet Lalia managed to awake something in him that had dried up in the past year or so, all thanks to his scandals with his band. Certain that it was her innocence that inspired him, he wanted to keep that aspect as intact as possible. But he was also quite drawn to her and Lalia felt the same thing, making it hard sometimes for him to hold back. Especially since he had never been good at holding back to begin with.

She called it warm here. Wasn't it funny, how her passion for music was not as strong as being here in his arms? Others might be pleased to here, Eoghan's ego certainly was, but he also wondered if he was not getting in the way of music. It was a tough balance to keep. He had yet managed that himself. "Warm, you say? Fine, I'll keep you warm," he said as he pulled her to him. He didn't know if this was a good idea but he was the one who kept her from getting out of bed to begin with. he wanted to keep her his for a little while longer. Even if they were technically in his apartment and she'd still remain with him only in the other rooms there. But they wouldn't be as close. He still hummed the song under his breath, as to tease her. She was cuddling against him. He was more touchy than cuddly but he tried to control himself a bit. He never would have thought girls like her could drive people this crazy. Well, no, he could see how, but he didn't expect it to happen to him. She was far from the first woman in his arm.

He ultimately stopped himself. He felt he already went pretty far with her. She might be passionate, but he felt he was responsible for it and wanted to keep her a bit innocent still, unable to yet make a distinction between the two. He didn't want to find out she stopped being interesting to him as she turned like one of those other women he went for in the past. He put a little bit more of distance between them as he calmed himself down. He'd go to the other room, look for his dog and then his guitar later on, but he needed a moment before he was able to do that. She was asking a lot of willpower from him to get away from her.

[LALIA KNIGHTLEY]

Lalia never had been able to live on her passion and finding someone like Eoghan and being able to do this with him pleased her. She liked discovering new aspects of her personality. She never went that far with someone and felt like he was the one, the right one and she couldn’t be happier despite the fact that he was teaching her at the time. She didn’t care as long as he agreed with it too. She knew what he was risking there and also what she was risking for doing the same but she wanted to live for the moment and she thought that things were going well so far.

She laughed a bit as he pulled her to him and enjoyed it. Despite being new to her she felt comfortable in his arms and while she enjoyed music, she also enjoyed the romance part of her relationship. She had always been a romantic at heart and most of the time it was one of the aspects in her life that tended to have people running away from her and it hurt her. She didn’t think she was a needy person after all.

She noticed then him putting some distance and looked at him curiously. “What are you doing?” She asked, was he going to show her the song now? That was intrigued and her focus went back to the music instead of him – for now.

[EOGHAN MANN]

It had been a long time since Eoghan did it with a virgin. He recalled claiming it was best not to, because they always assumed the relationship was so much deeper now just because of this. Lalia also appeared to him as a hopeless romantic. Considering the type of literature he ejoyed the most, maybe he had a bit of that in himself too, but he never found that all that particularly attractive. And yet... How could her innocence make him lose his mind so much? He wanted to take all of her at times, then at others to show off just how good he was more than he ever did before. When recalling such moments though, it felt weird, like he was not just acting by himself. That was confusing and he would have left, if it all disappeared when with her.

He managed to pull back, which he thought was an exploit. Sometimes, it was hard to. It was not a game of cat and mouse with her, like he was used to. It had to be why it pulled him so much, the novelty of it. She asked him what he was doing as he forced himself out of bed. "I better escape before you trap me here all day long," he told her. It was tempting to go back, and she wouldn't need much to achieve that if she wished for it. "Besides, I still have a song to have you listen to," he pointed out. Normally, he wouldn't care walking around his apartment with little clothes on. But, for her sake, he took the decency of wearing trousers before he would exit the bedroom to get to his instruments.

[LALIA KNIGHTLEY]

Lalia was indeed a hopeless romantic but she was still learning to trust Eoghan completely. She loved being with him as she thought that he understood her to need to do music all the time. She supported him in his song choices and was glad that she inspired him so much. She liked the idea to be someone’s muse. Yet, she didn’t think she could completely trust him especially with the fact that she was a witch. She worried a little over it; would he freak out? Definitely, however, would he accept the fact while wanting to stay with her? After all, not only was she a witch but she also was a Veela so technically she couldn’t be 100% human either when you thought about that. She also would rather not talk about the time she was tortured, not yet, as it was a darker part of her life and she wished to get over it.

She didn’t want to go away from his embrace but she accepted the fact that he wanted to show her the song. She nodded and smiled; slightly amused that he claimed she might trap him in her arms. She wouldn’t be against it, but the day had to keep going. “Alright, I’m willing to hear your song.” She said, curious as to what it would be. She sat up from the bed and then moved so she could get her clothes.

“When did you write it?” She asked him, referring to the song he was talking about.

[EOGHAN MANN]

Was Lalia like that or did he turn her this way? He tended to end up in toxic relationships. The kind thaat started all passionate and perhaps a bit too physical only to end up in fights and cheatings, when not being ignored and replaced by another altogether. She was not the first one to inspire him a song or two, but he usually grew bored of them the moment they realised it and enjoyed it. It was another thing that confused him with Lalia. She was more innocent than he was used to. He didn't feel like he was less passionate, he simply restrained himself more, because he almost feared what he could do to her. He didn't want to change her entirely, as it would not only be a shame for her as a person, but it could also ruin the artist she was, and he could not allow that.

He managed to get out of her grasp and to walk out of the room to reach his instruments. Unlike her, he didn't bother too much with clothes. He was used to walking around his place with little on. It was his place after all. It gave him the time to look through the sheets to find the one he meant to show her. He had hummed her the melody, so she should be able to recognize it a little, except that it was the full thing now, along with lyrics. He handed her the sheets when she joined him before picking his guitar and sitting down as he tuned it. "Recently. It took me some time to get the melody the way I wanted, but I think it will be fine," he explained, strumming the chords. What started as just an exercise of sort ended up being the song she now had in hand. "Ideally, that would be a duet. If you think you can sing that," he told her, looking up at her. It might be asking a lot to sing lyrics she was reading for the first time for a song she was hearing for the first time. But he wanted to see what she could do. He was curious about it.